The present invention relates to the field of outdoor cooking, specifically barbecue fires which use charcoal, or similar fuel materials, as a source of heat. The invention comprises a kit for extinguishing such fires, and a method for its use.
Food which is cooked over an outdoor charcoal grill is especially tasty, and this fact accounts for the great popularity of outdoor cooking devices. One major negative aspect of known methods of charcoal cooking is the handling of consumed, or partially consumed, charcoal briquets, after the cooking is completed. It is difficult to extinguish, remove, and discard the charcoal briquets, without leaving considerable dirt, both on the area of use, and on the persons doing the cleaning.
When the charcoal grill is used in a public park or similar environment, the charcoal briquets are commonly dumped onto the ground and left there. This practice is undesirable and potentially hazardous. If the charcoal briquets are still burning, they may transmit heat, through underground roots, causing forest fires at relatively distant locations. Even if the users take reasonable care to inspect the consumed briquets, it is often possible that a briquet which is believed to have been extinguished is in fact still burning. And, at the very least, even if there is no forest fire, the partially or completely burned charcoal is harmful to the environment, since it increases the amount of dust in the air, and detracts from the appearance of public parks.
If the cooking is done in the back yard of a home, it is equally undesirable and unhealthful to leave a pile of charcoal briquets on the ground. In addition to the environmental hazard and the negative aesthetic effect, the practice also poses a health hazard to children and pets who inevitably touch and eat almost anything within view.
Various means of extinguishing charcoal fires have been known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,060,919 shows a charcoal quench device for broilers. The device includes a basket made of wire mesh which rests within the bowl of the grill. When the grilling is completed, the top of the grill is removed, and the wire basket is lifted out of the bowl and immersed in water. In the cited patent, the wire basket is relatively rigid, maintaining its original shape throughout the cooking cycle. Also, the wire basket is kept within the broiler during cooking, so the wire needs to be quite thick.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,575,156 shows a barbecue apparatus having a disposable wire mesh basket. The apparatus is intended to be used only once. The charcoal and kindling material are provided inside the basket, and the entire apparatus is discarded after use.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,318,300 discloses another apparatus for extinguishing charcoal fires. A container holding the charcoal briquets is inverted, and the charcoal pieces are immersed in sand. U.S. Pat. No. 3,610,225 shows a barbecue unit wherein the charcoal briquets are extinguished, while still within the unit, due to lack of oxygen.
Other examples of prior art dealing with barbecue cooking apparatus include U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,370,582, 3,394,693, 3,509,814, and 4,254,863.
The present invention discloses a novel apparatus and method for extinguishing charcoal fires. The present method provides a simple, safe, economical, and clean way of extinguishing the fires, and of disposing of the charcoal residues. By use of this invention, it is possible to extinguish the fire and dispose of the charcoal, without ever touching the charcoal.